THE FUTURE: STONE JUNGLES?

The issue of tree-planting in Baku has long been a subject of heated discussion. Botanists, environmentalists, landscape designers and rank-and-file residents of Baku express their opinions about ways to improve the vegetation in Baku. Meanwhile, not only individual lawns, but whole parks, are changing their appearance in the city.

Chamaerops instead of the plane tree

The past summer saw a number of innovations in this respect - from the triumph of various bushes on the pavements, which were favoured by greenery experts, to cachepots decorating streetlights in the central streets of the city. Among the traditional events, we can only note that of felling old, sprawling trees - something that is gaining momentum…

One of the issues that concern the residents of Baku is that of palms. These exotic trees, planted all over the place, have long become a token of modern Baku. How suitable is the climate for them? Are they capable of replacing other types of trees in the general picture of the capital's green appearance? An engineer with the Baku Greenery Department, Oqtay Heydarov, says that of all the types of palms, the specialists in the organization he represents recommend only two - Waschingtonia and Chamaerops. These palms are relatively cold resistant and can easily survive the winter, even in Russia, if covered. But here they do not need to be covered in winter.

Incidentally, Oqtay Heydarov said that palms do not actually dominate our parks and lawns. On the whole, preference is given to various types of evergreen trees and bushes, as they are perfectly suited to our climate. One of the bushes has already become a favourite. This is ivy - the same half-green and half-yellow plant with leaves that decorates the pavements. Its popularity with local greenery experts is explained, as we found out, by the fact that, first, it is a very cold resistant and unpretentious plant and, second, it is a very decorative and beautiful bush. For our part, we should add that it is also inexpensive (those who buy it for private gardens pay only three manats per bush).

The engineer stressed that despite the generally held view, "the green stuff" is not imported from abroad - all plants are purchased from nurseries in Azerbaijan. He also said that the staff of the organization regularly check that the plants are growing well and are safe. If a sample is damaged or lost, another one, provided by the Greenery Department, is planted in its place.

Many residents of Baku have noticed the cachepots that have been fixed on brand new streetlights in the city centre. They look very beautiful, but even if they are constantly watered (which can be done only with the help of special equipment), how effective is it to use hanging plants at such a height in our capital - "the city of winds"? What will happen to them in our windy winter? It cannot be ruled out that the first real gusts of the Xazri (northern wind) will uproot the bushes and overturn the pots onto the heads of passers-by.

Asked about these "decorations", Oqtay Heydarov answered that his organization has nothing to do with the installation of such cachepots. According to information from other sources, an advertisement agency is responsible. Well, it seems that they are not doing their job, but time will tell. If these plants survive the winter, they will probably suit the city very well. That is, of course, if the Baku authorities do not decide to replace the streetlights again... If we consider that Baku's "green outfit" is confidently changing from a magnificent "crinoline dress" into a shameless bikini, you will be happy to see even one small piece of greenery in the streets.

Baku's "environmental body"

That a large number of trees are being felled in Baku is clear to the naked eye. Nevertheless, it is always good to have the figures, especially if this is to be a scientific approach to prove that Baku's green mantle has no even structure and is insufficient for our metropolis. Such research was carried out by two post-graduate students at Baku State University - Leyla Qasimova and Konul Lacinova under the leadership of environmentalist Firuza Sultanzada, a teacher at Baku State University, who also heads the Ekosfera non-governmental organization. Their dissertations are devoted to the ecological problems of urbanization, especially to the ecological body.

The "green body" should be scientifically calculated before new trees are planted. As for older residential areas, we can only compare the density of greenery with the norm, and this has been done by the young scientists. It was based on WHO standards, according to which there should be 50 square metres of urban and 300 square metres of suburban plants. But in reality, the "territory-population" correlation makes its own adjustments to the standards in every district of any particular city: there are special formulas to calculate compliance with WHO norms more accurately.

If it is applied to Baku, it looks like this. (Let's cite a number of specific examples). For a relatively small district like Sabayil, the norm is four square metres per person. But the actual figure is 2.1 square metres. In the large Azizbayov district, there should be 34 square metres for every person, but the actual figure is 100.7 square metres.

Such a difference, which is so disadvantageous to the Sabayil district, is explained by the level of urbanization. Sabayil district is located in the city centre, which is why apartment blocks and the high cost of land in this district have a negative impact on the environment, whereas the suburban Azizbayov district is dominated by private houses, each of which has a garden.

Alas, it is true: such unjustifiably drastic thinning of the city's green cloak is one of the negative aspects of urbanization. In the centre of Baku not only individual trees, but whole parks, are destroyed to make way for construction sites. It is enough to look at the area around the Nasimi monument at the intersection of Torgovaya and Samad Vurgun Streets. On the right you can see the magnificent crowns of trees and on the left - a gaping space around a new construction site. In any case, century-old trees happen to die not only under skyscrapers, but also under one-storey buildings. This happened behind the Bulbul school where a small park was destroyed to build an ugly house with a tall chimney. Trees were also felled in the Nizami garden, in the park in front of the Arts Museum as part of reconstruction work, in Istiqlaliyyat Street to make way for streetlights, in the lower part of the Governor's Garden, on the territory of the olive forest, in Qara Qarayev Avenue, in order to build another shop, in front of the Baku city hall, the Institute of Manuscripts, along the Bina-Baku highway and so on. It is not known what will happen to the trees in Sabir Park, which was recently closed for repairs, in the park outside the Cabinet of Ministers and other parks that have been surrounded by fences.

When we analyze this research into the "green body", we should consider many factors, especially when they are grouped on the basis of the correlation between the area of the district and the area of greenery within it. In Binaqadi district, this correlation is 170 and 4.5 square kilometers. It does not take account of the number of residents, but this district is quite densely-populated, so the situation is not very good. Even the fact that this area is dominated by private houses does not salvage the situation. Unlike Azizbayov district, in this district the housing estates are spread widely and the main green areas here are located along major highways. They are "thinning out" right now…

All hope on the suburbs

One of the greatest Russians once said that this country, "will grow into Siberia". As far as the green mantle of Baku is concerned, it will grow into its suburbs one day. Of course, the fruit gardens of rich areas like the Hazi Aslanov settlement contribute something to this issue, but the courtyards of nine-storey apartment blocks in the suburbs of the city could give us real hope for a decent ecological future. Broadleaved trees are no longer planted in the city centre, as palms are now in fashion in Baku. It is very convenient for the public utilities department - you do not have to sweep the streets in autumn. The next generation of residents of the city will learn the meaning of the word "leaf fall" only from dictionaries, like the meanings of such words as "plane", "oak", "olive tree" or "maple"... and many others of the same kind.

If broadleaved trees are still planted somewhere in Baku - then it is only in the dormitory suburbs like the sub-districts or Gunasli. The land around many old apartment blocks has long been seized for small gardens. Not only fruit trees grow there. And it is easier to breathe there, unlike in the city centre, where you cannot even open the window in your flat during the day, it is so polluted.

There are still many poplars and olive trees in the suburbs, as they have not been destroyed by people who do not think about the future of their children.

In any case, these unfortunate mini-gardens are already a pain in someone's neck. They are deliberately partitioned off to prevent their owners from looking after them. They are even destroyed, not just for another high-rise building, but because they are considered to be illegal.

However, a private initiative in this respect is at least punishable. What if it is not private and does not originate from private individuals? Unfortunately, companies that offer landscape design services cater only for wealthy customers. If we refer to non-governmental organizations, there is a small ray of light in this dark kingdom: the Ekosfera NGO regularly takes action related to greenery, and not only in the capital. The main participants in these actions are schoolchildren. Several years ago a large-scale campaign was carried out to plant trees in Baku, Sumqayit, the Abseron village of Qala, Ismayilli, Lankaran and Mingacevir. To this end, the NGO purchased various types of seedlings from the Baku Greenery Department. For example, broadleaved trees were planted in the southern region, evergreen trees in Baku and fruit trees in Qala.

We do not hide the fact that in their scale, these measures are a drop in the ocean, compared with the mass felling of trees. But it is important to draw attention to a problem that is usually ignored. You should not start with adults, as it is too late to explain anything to them. For this reason, one of the campaigns carried out by this NGO had an intellectual rather than practical nature and was targeted at children. It was called, "The tree is my friend". Children from the 5th-8th grades all over the country wrote about their favourite trees for a competition run by Ekosfera. A plane tree planted by my granddad… A red cherry plum tree called Princess… A poplar with its crown cut off, but it is still my favourite… The archive of the NGO contains many touching compositions accompanied by photos. But all this work will have to be continued in the future. The present is becoming gloomier and gloomier.

Talking about the problem of greenery in the capital, Firuza Sultanzada stressed that you cannot always replace old trees which give shade with new, fashionable ones. There are numerous ways of preserving the tidy appearance of old trees. Moreover, artificial, electric trees are not suitable for lawns and parks. These streetlights in the form of trees are just one method of decorating the streets, a kind of advertisement that attracts attention to a shop or restaurant. It sticks out like a sore thumb on a green lawn.

Finally, the environmentalist believes that in talking about the problem of Baku's "green lungs", each of us should talk about himself. For example, each of us should make his own contribution towards improving the situation, decorating his balcony with pots of living plants. She herself has already done so. We shall hope that the idea of decorating all balconies with plants will take root in our country, as it is already a normal way of life in other regions of the world with a climate close to ours. For example, in Israel, Spain or Italy, not only balconies, but also the walls are decorated with plants. They know how to keep every leaf of live greenery there.

Nevertheless, a pot on the balcony is not a panacea. It is sad to think that only individuals are dealing with the problem.